Outsider Chronicles: Empress of Escalation

Isekai. A Genre I love to bits and one of the few that I would quite happily jump into with both feet. However, I don't care what kind of god killing powers I get out of it, finding myself as Taylor Hebert following a close encounter with the back of a locker is NOT what I had in mind!

And we're back. Before we start, fair warning that this chapter contains Skidmark. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

As much as I was enjoying my time at Arcadia, I was rather glad when the weekend rolled around. Mainly because it meant I could finally go out on patrol again. Dad decided that it was probably a bad idea for me to have any late nights for my first week at a new school and, as much as I agreed with him, I was also starting to get antsy. I'd got a taste of what it was like and I wanted more. Unfortunately…

"Is this really necessary?" I asked as I followed my Aunt down the Boardwalk, feeling more than a little uncomfortable under the many stares we were attracting since non-Protectorate Capes just wandering around like this wasn't exactly common.

"Yep," said Mouse, who looked a lot less self conscious and practically skipping, "Perception is important for Capes, especially new ones. You don't want the first images of you to pop up on PHO to be of you punching goons or brooding on rooftops. It makes it a lot easier for you to get labeled as a Villain if you somehow mess up later down the line. This way, your mask gets known without having anything violent or depressing being attached to it."

She glanced back and me and frowned.

"Well, sort of. You could try smiling a little."

I forced a smile and Mouse twitched.

"On second thoughts, maybe not."

She stopped and sighed, then turned to face me.

"Look Ddraig, I get it. You want to be out there and kicking ass and you thought not joining the Protectorate would remove the need for this sort of thing. However, consider how every Cape appears to the general public, be they Hero or Villain. Every Parahuman ability has the potential to save lives, but they also have just as much, if not more, risk of hurting or even killing people. Imagine how the regular person feels knowing that a teenage girl could casually punch their head off their shoulders, or that a bullied kid could end up being able to build death rays out of junk in his Dads garage. The simple fact is that ALL Parahumans are viewed with a certain amount of suspicion by the public, even those who are basically known to be heroes or appear to have weak powers. That is why its so important to maintain good PR, even, or perhaps especially, for independents."

I blinked and stared at her. That...was honestly more of a reasonable explanation than I was expecting and it made sense.

"Now, that doesn't mean you need to do photo shoots, events or even public patrols every week like the Protectorate and Wards do," continued Mouse, "However, you should still make the effort to do a patrol like this at least once a month. It lets people get used to your presence and helps build a positive image."

"Huh...that all makes sense," I said, "Doesn't change the fact that this is boring though."

"Better bored than boned," said Mouse.

"Well, when you put it like that…"

I trailed off as the air in front of us abruptly distorted weirdly and deposited a little girl clad in green and a boy my age clad in rather nice looking red armour stood on a hoverboard. At the sight of us, they froze and Vista's eyes visably widened behind her visor.

"Ohmygosh, its Mouse Protector!" she gasped in the manner only a really young kid could.

Mouse let out a bark of laughter.

"Yep, it is I!" she exclaimed, striking a pose while I just facepalmed, "And you two are Vista and Kid Win, right?"

"T-thats right!" gasped Vista, "Ohmygosh, its such an honour to meet you!"

"So I take it shes a fan?" I deadpanned as the younger girl started gushing.

"How could you tell?" asked Kid Win, "And your...Drag, right?"

"Ddraig actually," I said, "Nice to meet you Kid Win. Although before we start, I should probably point out that I'm not interested in joining the Wards, so you might as well skip the soft sell I've no doubt your bosses have told you to give."

Kids eyebrow went up behind his visor.

"How did you know about that?" he asked.

"Because I can guess how people like Piggot think," I said, "I'm a young, powerful and potentially valuable Cape, exactly the sort of person they'd love to get their hands on, even without knowing what I can do. Plus, Mouse pretty much confirmed that the other night."

"Speaking of which, how do you know her?" asked Kid, before quickly backpedaling, "Ah, you don't have to answer that, I'm just curious as to why she'd come half way across the country to teach you."

I waved off the apology.

"I don't mind, although I will keep the actual reason to myself," I said.

"Fair enough."

The conversation trailed off a little, although Vista and Mouse were still going strong. Apparently the former was quite the fangirl. After a couple of minutes, Kid shifted slightly and frowned, before floating forwards and tapping Vista on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt Vista, but we are kinda on a schedule," he said.

Vista looked up at him and deflated, once again reminding everyone that, for all her power and attitude, she was still a 12 year old girl. I had to resist the urge to squee and hug her.

"Aww man, I was hoping to talk more," she whined.

Mouse grinned and patted the much shorter girl on the head.

"Not to worry young Vista," she said in a tone that made me think of bulging muscles and blonde hair, "I'll be sticking around for a good while, so we can talk again soon enough."

Vista visibly perked up at that.

"Really? Awesome!"

Mouse chuckled, then glanced at me with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Actually, could you do me a favour Vista?" she asked.

The blonde looked up at her apparent idol and tilted her head on one side as my stomach sank.

"Um, sure," she said.

"Do you mind taking Ddraig with you on your patrol?" asked Mouse, making me sigh as my suspicion was proven right, "Oh, don't look so down Ddraig. Making some friends your age will do you some good!"

"I have friends my age," I said.

"True, but none of them know what its like to be a Cape," she said, "Having someone who knows what your going through to potentially talk to is never a bad thing. Plus, they can walk you through the best ways to patrol while keeping fairly safe. That and I want to go heckle Missy."

Vista twitched slightly, a rather odd expression crossing the visible part of her face for obvious reasons.

"I get the feeling that last one is the real reason," I deadpanned, "Alright, fine, could be fun. Fair warning though, I ain't just gonna stand back if we stumble on a crime in progress."

"Fair enough, so long as you remember your Dads rules," said Mouse, "I really don't want to get scolded by him for not keeping you in one piece."

"Yeah yeah, no picking fights with Hookwolf or Lung, I know and I'm not stupid," I said.

"Never said you were," said Mouse as she turned back to the Wards, "So, are you alright with that?"

Vista and Kid Win glanced at each other and Vista shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" she said, "Sides, its always nice to meet a new girl hero, even if your not joining the Wards."

She grinned at me and I happily returned it.

"Great!" said Mouse, clapping her hands, "In that case, I'll see you later Ddraig. Have fun!"

She gave a little salute, winked and vanished with a pop. I sighed softly and turned back to the two Wards.

"So, where to first?" I asked.

"Just follow us," said Vista as she did...something and space distorted weirdly.

I blinked and took a closer look at the severely mistreated patch of space. Now that I had the chance to actually look at it closer, I could almost see how it was achieved. I moved forwards, Magic Circles popping up as I turned scanning spells on the truly fascinating bit of twisted reality in front of me…

"Ahem."

I looked up and blushed as I realised I'd just gone into the Magical equivalent of a Tinker fugue in the middle of the street. Vista looked slightly amused while Kid looked somewhere between amused and understanding.

"Ah, sorry about that," I said, dismissing the circles and rubbing the back of my head, "I don't know what came over me…"

"Its fine," said Vista, "You can look at my powers affects later if you want. For now, we should get started."

I blushed again as I followed the other two teenagers through the spatial warp and onto the rooftop of a building across the road. Powers are such bullshit. We paused for a moment while Kid Win checked something on his visor, before heading out across the city in the general direction of the line between the civilized parts of the city and the Docks. The area was safe enough, but there was still a higher chance of crimes than the upper crust areas, creating a part of the city that wasn't bad enough for the Protectorate to waste time on and safe enough that no one could complain about the Wards being there while still giving them a chance to potentially cut their teeth on some minor criminals. Win win as it were.

"So, I take it your some kind of Tinker?" asked Kid after we'd been moving for about five minutes.

"Ehhh, kinda," I said, "I don't build tech though. Hmm, how to put this?"

I trailed off as I considered how best to do this without giving away my entire bag of tricks. Ah, that'd do.

"My power is kinda like a cross between a Tinker and a Trump," I said, "It lets me essentially build new powers."

Vista nearly tripped over her own feet while Kid's hoverboard visibly dipped in the air.

"WHAT?!" yelped both Wards.

"Ah, its not what your thinking," I said, holding up my hands, "That was just the simplest way of putting it, although its probably given you entirely the wrong idea. Think of it more as being able to manipulate certain aspects of the infinite realities that make up the Universe to achieve results in our world."

Incidentally, that was a complete lie. Magic was Magic and was basically about enforcing ones will on reality, but stealing the MCU's explanation was a good way to get across what I could do without the potential sticky results of outright admitting it was Magic.

"I...guess that makes sense," said Vista, "Still, it sounds amazingly useful."

I pulled a face and made a so-so gesture.

"Ehhh, kinda, sorta, not really," I said, "Building new...spells for want of a better word can be a massive pain in the arse. I have to understand exactly what I'm doing and ensure that the equations that go into it are perfectly balanced or things tend to go boom."

Vista snorted.

"Spells? Really?" she asked.

I shrugged.

"You could call them programs if you want, but I rather like fantasy and they work very similarly to certain Magic systems, so why not?"

"Because calling your powers Magic is a good way to get mocked on PHO," said Kid Win.

I grinned and shrugged again.

"Eh, who cares?" I asked, "I rather like Myrddins style and considering how little we know about how Powers actually work, they might as well be Magic."

"Thats...actually a very good point," said Kid, "Equations?"

I groaned.

"You would not believe how many notebooks I've gone through just building the few spells I have," I said.

That was true. Issei could teach me how to use his Magic and had taught me a couple of basic spells, but because of the differences between Devils and Humans, if I wanted anything new, I had to build it myself. So far, I'd built a grand total of two spells, my Chain Lightning spell and the beginnings of my version of Dress Break and the amount of work that went into them was...well, lets just say I have a new appreciation of just how much work Rossweisse put into her Magic before she became a Devil. I was also working hard to figure out how to create what amounted to components to other spells at the same time, which would allow me to add effects to my current spells and create new ones easier down the line.

Kid Win shuddered slightly, a look of pity on his face.

"I am SO glad that's not my power," he said, "My Dyscalculia is enough of a bitch to deal with when it comes to my own power."

"Its not so bad," I said with a shrug, "Once I figure out a spell, they're pretty modular, so I can do all sorts of things with them. Sure, its hard now, but once I have a decent library of spells, it won't be that hard to mix and match."

"Huh, that sounds...handy," said Kid, "Modular...thats…"

He trailed off, a strange look on his face.

"Um, is he alright?" I asked as Kid started muttering under his breath.

"He'll be fine," said Vista, "You probably just said something that gave him an idea.

She eyed me for a moment with a slight frown on her face.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Just wondering why you told us all that," she said, "You do know that we have to report all this, right?"

I shrugged and nodded.

"I do, but its not like this won't come out eventually one way or another," I said, "This just means that…"

I was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. The three of us immediately came to a stop and looked around, Kid coming out of his fugue and putting a hand on his pistol. After a moment, the Tinker pointed.

"That way," he said.

Vista nodded and put a hand on her visor.

"Consoul, be advised that we just heard a gunshot on 36th street," she said, "Permission to investigate?"

There was a short pause, before she nodded.

"Alright, we'll stay in touch," she said, "Vista out."

She turned back to us.

"We've been given permission to investigate," she said, "Come on and keep your head down Ddraig."

I nodded and followed the two Wards across the relatively short distance between us and the sound. Once we arrived, we took cover behind the roofs lip and peaked over. Kid quickly stifled a curse as Vista scrambled to call the consoul. I honestly can't blame Kid considering what was going on down on the street level.

The gunshot had apparently come from the gun in the hand of a rather disgusting looking man in what could charritably be called a costume, if a filthy bath towel cape and a pair of underpants as a mask can honestly be called a costume. Skidmark, because who else could it be, was backed up by the hulking forms of Trainwreck and Mush, as well as a large number of filthy junkies armed with a variety of makeshift weapons.

"Finally found you bitch!" snarled Skidmark, pointing the gun in his hand at the rather nonplussed looking Penny, who seemed to be trying to resist the urge to cover her nose, "Your the cucksucker who caught Squealer! You'll pay for that you shit-eating scrotum sniffer!"

I blinked, trying to decide if I should be offended or amused that the common depiction of Skidmark was entirely accurate.

"I only stopped Squealer because she was putting people at risk with her actions," said Penny, sounding much more polite than most people would be when confronted by the likes of Skidmark and his cronies, "I have nothing against your group personally and would honestly prefer to avoid you. If you would please leave, we can avoid a fight here."

Skidmark stared at her for a moment as his face went purple.

"ARE YOU MOCKING ME BITCH?!" he screamed, "Fuck this, Mush, Trainwreck, grab her and bring her along. We can have some fun with her!"

I glanced at the two Wards beside me and raised an eyebrow.

"So, we gonna help her?" I asked.

Vista scowled, telling me everything I needed to know.

"Reinforcements are on their way, but we've been ordered to stand down," she said.

"I see," I said, "In that case, this is where I must leave you. This has been fun, we should do it again."

I clenched my fist.

BOOST!

"Wha...WAIT!"

Before either Ward could stop me, I stood and jumped, a magic circle briefly flaring into existence below my feet as I did to give me a boost. I sailed over the Merchants and landed lightly beside Penny, making the Merchants stop and take a step back.

"Sorry to intrude, but this doesn't exactly look like a fair fight," I said, "Mind if I join in?"

"Not at all," said Penny, "I admit, dealing with them all on my own would have been...troublesome."

"Heh, you're a confident one bitch," growled Trainwreck, "You honestly think two little girls can beat all of us?"

I smirked and clenched my fist.

BOOST!

"Oh, I think I can manage," I said, "You ready Penny?"

Penny grinned and clenched her fists.

"Yep, I'm combat ready!" she said.

As if to prove her point, her backpack opened and a number of very distinctive blades popped out and unfolded, floating into position around her.

"Fine, but don't cry when you get hurt!" roared Trainwreck as he threw a punch.

I jumped over the massive fist and landed lightly on the mechanical arm, using it as a springboard to launch a punch at the actually soft part of the large Case 53's body.

It didn't work very well. Apparently, Trainwrecks actual body was more blob-like than I was expecting and absorbed the impact with ease.

"Aw crap," I muttered as I felt Trainwrecks massive mitt close around my ankle.

The next thing I knew, I was flying through the wall of the building at high speed and very glad that my Boosted Gear boosted my durability. That could have ended badly otherwise.

BOOST!

I jolted slightly at the surge of extra power, before shoving the empty rack that had fallen on me off and getting to my feet. I hopped back through the hole as Trainwreck drew up short on his advance.

"Heh, so your a bit tougher than you look," growled the Merchant Tinker, "Fine, that just makes this more fun!"

He took another step and drew back his fist, throwing another punch. This time, I didn't bother with anything fancy and just dodged, responding with a blast of force that knocked the oversized Merchant of balance but didn't do much else. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and dodged another punch.

BOOST!

I conjured a circle that produced a cone of ice cold mist to counter a blast of steam from a hidden nozzle on his arm and ducked under his other arm as he swung it at me. The guy wasn't exactly fast, but I didn't really want to take a head-on blow from him, even with my defences continuing to rise.

"Stand still bitch!" snarled Trainwreck as he swung at me again.

"Now why would I want to do that?" I asked, ducking under the blow, "To slow."

Trainwreck let out a roar of fury and clasped his hands above his head to bring them down in a hammer blow.

BOOST!

CRUNCH!

"The fuck?!"

I grinned through gritted teeth as I held back Trainwrecks arms with mine. It was hard, just barely within my current limits, but I could do it and I was tired of this charade. Now that my strength was at a suitable level, it was time to end it.

I tensed my legs and shoved Trainwreck off me, helped along with another pulse of force that sent him stumberling back.

"Alright, time to put an end to this," I growled as I held up my left hand and clenched my fist, "Boosted Gear, activate!"

EXPLOSION!

I'd always wondered in my past life just what the point of using Explosion was since it forced Issei to rely solely on the power he'd built up to that point and even prevented him from Boosting for a short time afterwards. However, now that I had the Boosted Gear myself, it made a lot more sense.

A good way to think about it would be Izuku Midoria and his use of One for All. While using Full Cowling, he is limited in the amount of strength he has access to, but can fight for longer without worry. However, if he needs a massive boost in power, he can use it at 100% at the cost of breaking his bones. The Boosted Gear was similar. Under normal circumstances, the power gained from Boosting provides a general, well, boost that increases over time, making it useful for long battles. However, using Explosion allows the user to release the stored power in a much more explosive manner, allowing them to output far more damage. It wasn't a perfect analogy of course, but that's kinda the nature of analogies.

Anyway, getting back on track, at the call, the green gem flashed and a green aura erupted around me, cracking the ground and producing a powerful wind that tugged at my clothes and hair. I grinned savagely as I felt pure power flow through my veins.

"End of the line Trainwreck!" I yelled over the howling wind.

Trainwreck scowled.

"FUCK YOU BITCH!" he snarled and swung at me.

I didn't even bother dodging as I stopped the fist with one hand and snapped my fingers on the other.

"Dress Break."

CLANG!

Trainwrecks eyes went wide as his mech suit came apart around him, leaving him as nothing more than a round blob in a pair of steampunk goggles.

"What the f…"

He was cut off as I kicked him, sending him flying into the side of a building where he slid down and sort of oozed into a flattish shape at the bottom of the wall, unconscious and bleeding sluggishly from the nose.

That done, I turned to the rest of the fight, just in time to see Penny spool up her swords in gun form and blasting Mush with a green energy blast that vaporized his garbage outer shell and sent him flying into another wall, unconscious and smoking lightly.

"Huh, that was impressive," I said.

Penny gave a blinding smile.

"Thank you Ta...friend!" she chirped.

I raised an eyebrow, although I wasn't entirely surprised she'd figured it out. She was a robot after all and her RWBY counterpart was incredibly perceptive.

A chunk of brick whizzing past my nose drew me up and I scowled as I turned my attention back to Skidmark.

"Your still here?" I growled, "Shouldn't you have run when we beat your muscle?"

"FUCK YOU BITCH!" snarled Skidmark.

I scowled.

"Why do you idiots insist on calling me that?" I growled, "My name is Ddraig, not Bitch."

"DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A SHIT YOU CUM-SLURPING CROTCH JOCKEY?!" screamed Skidmark, "I'M GONNA FUCK YOU TWO UP SO MUCH EVEN YOUR MAMA'S WON'T RECOGNISE YOU!"

I sighed and glanced at Penny.

"Do you mind?" I asked.

"Go right ahead," said Penny.

"Thanks," I said as I turned back to Skidmark and raised my hand as a red sphere appeared over my palm.

"Heh, you think I'm scared?!" sneered Skidmark as he indicated to the glowing purple streaks in front of him, "Nothing can get past my streaks you mush brained cu…"

His insult was cut off as I drew back my fist and punched the orb.

"Dragon SHOT!"

Skidmark had just enough time to pale before the energy blast plowed straight through his defences and slammed into him, blasting through the wall of the building behind him. A moment later, the light faded, revealing the Merchant leader unconscious and drooling on top of a pile of bricks.

RESET!

I slumped slightly as the energy from the Boosted Gear faded. I wasn't at my limit yet, but I still felt more than a little tired. I think it was time to call it a day for now.

"Well, that was interesting," said a new voice from behind me.

I turned around to see a man emerging from the computer warehouse. He was shorter than me, with shoulder length blonde hair that looked like it had been a few days since it had seen a brush or a shower and was wearing a white lab coat over what appeared to be street clothes. Other than the coat, the only indications that he was anything other than a bystander were the sleek, futuristic looking goggles over his eyes, the bulky gauntlets he was wearing and the shield on his left hand that seemed to have a large drill sticking out of it.

Stood behind the newcomer was a small girl who looked even younger than Vista. She had purple hair, yellow eyes and was wearing a red cape and white berete. The rest of her body was very obviously robotic, with her hair even looking like it was made of shaped metal.

"Oh, hi Professor, sorry for disturbing you," said Penny.

"Its fine," said the Professor, "Are you OK Penny?"

Penny grinned.

"Yep, I'm A-OK!" she said, "The weapon you made me worked perfectly!"

The Professor sighed.

"Well, thats a relief," he said, "Now all we need to do is call the PRT to pick up these idiots…"

He pulled a face.

"Not a big fan of the PRT?" I asked.

"Not exactly," said the Professor, "I just don't really want the whole joining spiel. I don't think I'd fit in very well considering what my speciality is."

I glanced at the two robotic girls.

"Let me guess, robotics and programming?" I asked.

The Professor and both robot girls froze and spun around to stare at me.

"How did…" he started, then glanced at the girl behind him and deflated, "Oh, right…"

"Hey, don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to," I said, "I don't exactly have anything against robotic Tinkers, so long as they don't make a Gray Goo scenario or something."

The Professor snorted.
"Small chance of that," he grumbled, "Honestly, I have no idea where their personalities come from, but Poppi's the equivalent an airheaded five year old, Penny is way too nice to even consider it, C3-PO is...well, C3-PO and Wyvern is a lazy bum."

I blinked twice.

"Wait, you built C3-PO?" I asked.

The Professor snorted.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" he asked, "As soon as I figured out what my speciality was, I had to give it a try."

I frowned at that. Something about that sounded oddly familiar…

Then, my eyes widened as it hit me.

"Holy...GREG?!" I spluttered.

Once again, everyone froze. Then, the Pro...Greg's eyes widened as well.

"Wait a sec...Taylor? Is that you?"

I twitched and sighed. Well, this was certainly a twist I'm sure no one saw coming. It was also likely going to be either a huge pain in the ass...or the start of a rather interesting friendship.

And done. Finally, you would not believe how much trouble I had with the start of this chapter. I really wanted to include the conversation with Mouse, but it would not cooperate! Fortunately, I managed to catch my Muse and beat something half decent out of her, so its all fine. Now, onto some other points.

First up, Taylor telling Vista and Kid a bit of bullshit about her powers. As she said, it'll likely come out eventually anyway and this way it should make people think twice about picking a fight with her or trying to grab her off the street. Tinkers are dangerous, imagine how dangerous one that doesn't need supplies would be.

Honestly, writing Skidmark was kinda fun. I hope I was inventive enough with his swearing.

I hope my explanation of my interpretation of how the Explosion aspect of the Boosted Gear works. Its basically a choice between increasing power over a period of time or releasing what power she has to achieve short term explosive power. I'm not entirely pleased with it, but it works well enough.

Yeah, I planned right from the start for Taylor to team up with Greg and his robotic creations. If you don't like him, tough luck. That said, he won't be quite as annoying as some depictions of him. Trigger Events tend to change people after all.

Speaking of Greg, can anyone guess why he holed up where he did? Also, whats the deal with Wyvern? Hehe, I really wanna see what comes out of this revelation!

Speaking of revelations, Poppi is obviously based on the artificial Blade from Xenoblade 2.

And with that, I do believe that I am done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!